Deb Erdley stories, Page 3

Lewis McClain vividly remembers the double-digit mortgage rates of the early 1980s, and the 83-year-old Edinboro Democrat is afraid the country is headed in that direction again. “I don’t agree with all this stimulus money giveaway,” McClain said. “All of this is going to be very inflationary. It has been...

The attorney for a woman seeking a protection from abuse order against embattled Somerset County District Attorney Jeffery Lynn Thomas on Friday agreed to withdraw her petition. Somerset lawyer Matt Zatko said his client filed the petition seeking the protection of the court the day after Thomas was arrested and...

The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and Mainline Pharmacy will sponsor five covid-19 vaccine clinics on Tuesdays through November. The clinics are free and open to the public as well as the campus community. The clinics will provide the Moderna vaccine for those 12 and older. Both initial shots and...

Somerset County’s district attorney has temporarily lost his law license in the wake of sexual assault charges filed against him last month. The Disciplinary Board of the State Supreme Court on Wednesday announced the temporary suspension of Jeffrey Lynn Thomas’ law license. The board noted that the ruling does not...

Colleges across the region, ranging from the University of Pittsburgh to local community colleges, are mirroring troubling national trends in enrollment. In a development experts say could lead to gaps in the workforce and affect the nation’s economic health for years to come, college enrollment is down overall for the...

With the retirement of Jack Rutkowski, Mt. Pleasant Township voters will be sending a new face to the three-member board of supervisors this fall for the first time in years. Two longtime township residents, Republican Alyn Hutter and Democrat Bill Pinskey, will square off on the Nov. 2 ballot for...

The University of Pittsburgh is poised to join other colleges and universities that have mandated the covid-19 vaccination for students and staff. The school is weighing a policy change and expects to announce its decision soon, a Pitt spokesman confirmed. Pitt opted against requiring students, faculty and staff be vaccinated...

Penn State is extending a covid-19 vaccination mandate to all faculty and staff at University Park to six of its regional campuses. The mandate is an effort to comply with President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring federal contractors to vaccinate employees. Penn State has a number of contracts and research...

Faculty members across the University of Pittsburgh celebrated the end of a five-year organizing drive Tuesday with the announcement that they had won a vote to become members of the United Steelworkers union. Officials said preliminary vote results indicated 71% of the eligible faculty members who cast ballots in the...

Nursing homes are struggling to meet vaccination mandates for workers despite the likelihood of federal sanctions. In Pennsylvania, about 28% of the state’s 688 skilled care nursing facilities had met an 80% threshold for staff vaccination rates as of Oct. 3, according to the state Department of Health. Even fewer...

Westmoreland County is sticking to its plan not to release a plan for the expenditure of $105 million in federal rescue plan aid until early next year. Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher reiterated the stand commissioners have taken for months now during an online forum with commissioners from Greene and Beaver...

The great wait is over for stakeholders at California, Clarion and Edinboro universities. Officials with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education made it official Thursday: the merged university that will include the three campuses will be known as Pennsylvania Western University, or PennWest for short, beginning July 2022. As...

Travelers driving north along South Main Street in the heart of downtown Greensburg can get a glimpse of the city’s past. But they have to look up to the left, and be quick. A neon sign that once told the world what the building at 124 S. Main held is...

Enrollment declined 5.4% across Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities this fall, slipping to 88,651 — a low not seen in 35 years. Officials were anticipating a slight decline in enrollment, but nothing prepared them for the totals the universities reported after three weeks of classes. Enrollment has not been this low...

Fans of legal thrillers can add a new title to their nightstand. Ken Gormley, president of Duquesne University, is poised to join the fraternity of legal eagles who have taken up the novelist’s pen with the release of his first novel, “The Heiress of Pittsburgh” (Sunbury Press, $19.95). It comes...

A Westmoreland County lawmaker’s attack on the state’s financial relationship with Pitt, Penn State and Temple is drawing blowback from the powerhouse public research universities and their supporters. State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, says he has “ethical” issues with the commonwealth spending about $580 million to support the three universities...

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is back. After being online in 2020, the Westmoreland County Walk to End Alzheimer’s — part of the world’s largest fundraiser dedicated to raising awareness and funds to fight the devastating neurodegenerative disease — will be held this weekend at Twin Lakes Park in Unity....

Americans have seen vaccination rates by state, county and ZIP code. Now, as Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration tackles vaccine hesitancy, there’s yet another metric in Pennsylvania. A new report that breaks down vaccination rates by Pennsylvania legislative district suggests there is a significant rural-urban divide, with the highest vaccination rates...

A Greensburg dentist and his late wife, who spent decades volunteering for the University of Pittsburgh Greensburg and ensuring that children in the region received proper dental care, will be honored next month by the Pitt Greensburg Alumni Association. Dr. Christopher Luccy, DMD, and his late wife, Barbara, will receive...

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Thursday stepped into the legal fray over the a Republican-controlled Senate committee’s attempt to subpoena voter and personal data for nearly 9 million Pennsylvanians. Republicans say they need the data so they can hire a yet to be named private company to conduct what...

Libraries and foundations across the region are ratcheting up programs to promote reading and early learning as National Literacy Month draws to a close. Local efforts include a program at Excela Westmoreland Hospital to ensure every new mother leaves with a first book for her child, a drive in Norwin...

Former Westmoreland County Election Director Beth Lechman, who resigned three months before the contentious 2020 general election, has been appointed election director in Centre County. Lechman, who led the Westmoreland elections office for five years, began her new job Monday. Public records show the officials in the county of 165,000...

Nursing home leaders and advocates for patients and care workers clashed Wednesday, with one side asking state officials to put the brakes on plans to increase staffing levels at Pennsylvania’s 700 skilled care nursing homes and the other saying reforms can’t come soon enough. Industry representatives told lawmakers at a...

Regulars at Harry’s Bar could be sure of one thing: they were welcome, and Mike Emanuel would remember their names. Harry’s, on North Maple Street, was Greensburg’s answer to Cheers, the bar of TV fame, Emily Owczykowski said. The longtime employee at Harry’s and close friend of Mr. Emanuel and...

A revival rally Sunday at the Shields Farm in Delmont paid tribute to the heroes of 9/11 as well as the thousands who died over the past 20 years in Afghanistan and Iraq. The “Let’s Roll America” rally, which attracted about 200 people, featured all the elements of a summer...